Posner's iTunes U Launch
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A story about how Mike Posner cleverly used iTunes U, a platform meant for academic content, to launch his music career while at Duke University.
"Mike Posner was a white kid from Detroit who said he was going to be a rapper while at Duke. He released his song on iTunes U because he was in school, and only students or professors could put content there. Most things on iTunes U were extremely academic, like lectures from biology classes.
He put his rap song on iTunes U and hit the top of the charts there. He would tell people 'I'm number 1 on iTunes (U).' While the regular iTunes rankings were super competitive and required being mega famous, the iTunes U rankings were right below it showing top 10 downloads.
He got a lot of fans that way because college students saw his song. Then he booked a bunch of early gigs when he had no name by saying 'I'm number 1 on college campuses on iTunes.' Venues would give him a shot, and that's how he went on a college tour and built his following."
Shaan Puri
Host of MFM
Shaan Puri is the Chairman and Co-Founder of The Milk Road. He previously worked at Twitch as a Senior Director of Product, Mobile Gaming, and Emerging Markets. He also attended Duke University.